Psychology 350
Psychopathology

Dr. Salvatore (Sam) Catanzaro
Executive Associate Dean, College of Arts and Sciences
Professor of Psychology

Illinois State University

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The authors of the text suggest that there are no hard and fast rules we can use to specify that a certain behavior is abnormal under any circumstance. Instead, they suggest a "family resemblance" approach. This is sometimes called a "prototype" approach to classification.

In a family resemblance approach, we do not look for exact matches to required elements to define categories. Instead, we identify a set of elements that help us determine how well an individual matches a theoretical standard, called a prototype. An example is that we can guess pretty well if two people are related to each other, even if they are not identical. Here are two more familar examples of using the family resemblance approach:

• you can identify basset hounds, St. Bernards, chihuahuas, gray wolves, and arctic foxes as all being members of the Dog family
• you can identify Sequoia redwoods, White Oaks, and Weeping Willows all as being members of the Tree family

These different kinds of dogs and trees have lots of different characteristics. But, based on family resemblance or match to the prototype, we can see that they belong together. (For some purposes, we might make more specific subclassifications, such as domestic vs. wild dogs, or hounds vs. terriers, or deciduous trees vs. conifers) Similarly, a wide variety of behaviors could be abnormal, and we use the 7 elements to determine how strong a "family resemblance" there is based on how many of the 7 elements are present.This approach to defining abnormal behavior is further complicated by its sensitivity to context. Note how many of the 7 elements are context-sensitive. Here are just three examples:

Behavior considered maladaptive under some circumstances might be considered quite adaptive under others.

Observer Discomfort might result for some observers and not others, or in some cultures and not others.

What is considered unconventional and vivid during one historical period (e.g., men wearing earrings; women wearing pants) might be considered mundane in another.

So, the 7 elements provide us with a general guide to evaluating behavior. The more of them we judge to be present, the more likely we are to decide that the behavior is abnormal. But we must implement these with care, carefully considering the person's life circumstances (i.e., their social and interpersonal context), their cultural background, and our own values, beliefs, and assumptions.I hope that this helps.

Still have a question? Send me an e-mail by clicking here. The subject header has been set to "Elements."

Salvatore J. Catanzaro, Illinois State University, Department of Psychology